In Odesa, a military unit commander collected "tribute" from subordinates, demanding 30% of their combat pay.

In Odessa, police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) apprehended a 31-year-old commander of a military unit "in the act" for extorting money from subordinates. For seven months, the official forced soldiers to hand over 30% of their additional payments for combat missions, claiming it was necessary for the unit's needs, particularly for equipment repairs. This was reported by the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odessa region on Tuesday, January 7.

According to the investigation, those who refused to pay the "tribute" were threatened by the detainee with creating artificial obstacles in their service, such as identifying non-existent shortcomings in their work or unjustly transferring them to other units or combat zones.

From June to December 2024, the commander obtained over 400,000 hryvnias from the personnel in this manner. He was detained while receiving another "installment" of 41,000 hryvnias.

Investigators conducted searches in the suspect's car and at his residence, where they seized cash, mobile phones, and bank cards.

The commander of the military unit has been notified of suspicion under part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He faces up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The court has chosen a preventive measure — detention with the possibility of bail. The investigation is ongoing.

It is worth noting that on December 30, a court arrested the suspended commander of the 211th Motorized Infantry Brigade, Oleg Poberezhnyuk, who is involved in a case concerning the abuse of soldiers, for two months with the possibility of posting over 12 million hryvnias in bail.

In the city of Malyn, Zhytomyr region, doctors demanded money for confirming disability from a severely wounded fighter.